The gold prices used in this table and chart are supplied by FastMarkets. Where the gold price is presented in currencies other than the US dollar, it is converted into the local currency unit using the foreign exchange rate at the time (or as close to as possible).

Mid price: USD/Oz

The gold prices used in this table and chart are supplied by FastMarkets. Where the gold price is presented in currencies other than the US dollar, it is converted into the local currency unit using the foreign exchange rate at the time (or as close to as possible).

Pagination

Holdings in global gold-backed ETFs and similar products rose by 69 tonnes(t) to 2,440t in 2018, equivalent to US$3.4bn of inflows. Global gold-backed ETFs grew 3% in 2018, driven by strong growth in European funds and increased global inflows during December.** This is the first time since 2012 that the value of total gold-backed ETF holdings has finished the year above US$100bn.

Many investors buy gold instinctively, as a long-term store of value. Charlie Morris, Head of Multi-Asset at UK investment manager Atlantic House Fund Management, has devised a more conventional way of assessing gold - using a tried and tested model.

Holdings in global gold-backed ETFs and similar products rose by 69 tonnes(t) to 2,440t in 2018, equivalent to US$3.4bn of inflows. Global gold-backed ETFs grew 3% in 2018, driven by strong growth in European funds and increased global inflows during December.** This is the first time since 2012 that the value of total gold-backed ETF holdings has finished the year above US$100bn.

Madame Wu Xiaoling, Chairwoman of the Board of the PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University and former Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China, believes that gold has a crucial role to play in China’s continuing development and the internationalisation of the RMB.

Central banks bought more gold in 2018 than at any time since the early 1970s – and the trend has continued this year. Isabelle Strauss-Kahn, Member of the Advisory Board of the World Gold Council, former Director of Market Operations at the Banque de France and former Lead Financial Officer at the World Bank, explains why.

Holdings in global gold-backed ETFs and similar products rose sharply in June by 127 tonnes (t) to 2,548t – equivalent to US$5.5bn in inflows – as geopolitical uncertainty increased and central banks signalled a shift to a more accommodative policy over the coming months. This drove rates and the US dollar lower and shifted the momentum in gold as its price moved to a six-year high.

Wahed is the world’s first automated investing service for the US$2 trillion Shari’ah investment market. Based in the US with a growing international footprint, Wahed gives retail investors access to low-cost, diversified, Halal portfolios. Global Head of Portfolios Samim Abedi explains the inspiration behind Wahed and why gold is such an integral part of its offer.